Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Why dozens of India's Asiatic lions are dying.

By Ankur JainBBC Hindi, Ahmedabad

Gujarat government's last lion census in 2010 pegs their numbers at 411

Is the last abode of the Asiatic lion turning into a death trap for the big cat?

Gir in India's Gujarat state is home to Asiatic lions and has seen 256 lions dying in the past five years.
Experts say their population is at risk with the big cats
making new homes in human settlements.
Once widespread in Gujarat, the lion population shrank to a
mere dozen in the early 20th Century, mainly due to hunting and drought.
But Nawab Mahabat Khanji of then Junagadh state, an animal
lover who kept 300 dogs as pets, banned lion hunting, and was able to
preserve the big cat.
However, in the last century as the lion population started
soaring, the 1,400 sq km (540 sq miles) Gir sanctuary in Junagadh state
began to be too small for the animals.
Today, lions are found across the 20,000 sq km area of the
Saurashtra region - which includes Junagadh and 10 other districts - and
are routinely spotted on private farms and near village homes.
Environmentalist Takhubhai Sansur says in the last three
months alone, about 20 lions have been run over by speeding trucks and
trains.
"Lion numbers have increased, but the challenge is their
safety. About 40% of the total lion population now lives outside the
forest area. Open wells and live wires on farms, poachers and passing
trains and trucks have turned this region into a death field for the
Asiatic lion," he says. 'Under control'
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) had
in 2000 added the Asiatic lion to the list of critically endangered
species.
In 2005, when the lion population started swelling and
crossed 250, it was removed from the list. Gujarat government's last
lion census in 2010 pegs their numbers at 411.
Gir forest official Sandeep Kumar does not see the many deaths as a major threat to the species.
"Only 20% are accidental deaths, which is a cause for concern
but the situation is under control. Lions are territorial animals and
they live in prides. They are moving out as a male needs an area of 50
sq km and a female needs 26 sq km."

Increasingly, big cats are found straying outside of the forest area, appearing on farms and near homes

Mr Kumar says the government is now creating alternative
habitats in Saurashtra to give more space to the big cat. Officials have
also asked the railways to reduce train speed in lion-dominated areas
to avoid running them over.
The Gujarat government annually spends 500m rupees ($8.3m; £5m) on wildlife - half of it on the big cat.
But critics say the amount is less than 5% of what is spent
on promoting tourism, for which lions are the biggest draw. They also
accuse the government of not being honest about the reason behind the
lions' deaths.
"The deaths are alarming and that's the reason the government
continues to hide the autopsy reports. Life of big cats outside of Gir
is at great risk," says wildlife activist Harish Joshi.
Wildlife scientist Ravi Chellam, who has been working with
lions for the past three decades, believes India's lion population is
now at risk. 'Playing politics'
In the 1990s, in a study for the Wildlife Institute of India
he suggested that a few lions should be shifted outside Gujarat to save
the species.
"An epidemic in Serengeti National Park in Tanzania in 1994
killed over 1,000 lions in a few days. Something of that sort can't be
ruled out in Saurashtra, as a sizeable population lives outside the
forest and is exposed to infections.
"Indian courts and other experts have agreed on
translocation, but Gujarat government is not comfortable with the idea,"
says Mr Chellam, who is part of a panel appointed after a Supreme Court
order to oversee the translocation.
Activists accuse the state government of "playing politics" over lions.
The Gujarat government, under then chief minister Narendra
Modi who is now prime minister, fought long court battles to prevent the
lions being moved to the Kuno Palpur Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh in
central India.

Open wells on farms often turn into death traps for lions who fall into them

For people of Saurashtra, lions are a symbol of pride and many
have adopted second names like Sinh and Savaj, which mean lion in
Gujarati.
"Mr Modi exploited the translocation issue for votes in
Gujarat. But those who love lions want it to be safe and would never
object to translocation. After all, they are not state property," says
wildlife activist Bhikhabhai Jethava.
"The rampant illegal sand and limestone mining in the region
have dried the rivers and that's the reason lions are migrating to
coastal areas as far as 300km [186 miles] from the forest area," he
adds.
Activists are also worried over the increasing man-animal
conflict in the region - in the past two years, lions have killed 14
people and wounded 114 others. And two farmers have been arrested for
killing lions who strayed into their fields.
The bulk of the government budget for the big cat today is
spent on compensating farmers whose cattle have been killed by lions and
on removing the big cats from farms. Last year, lions killed 600 cattle
and 500 operations were carried out to relocated the big cats.
Gir forest official Anshuman Sharma says they now have to
provide security to farmers to harvest crops as they fear prowling lions
and leopards.
"Wildlife management has now become more of human management.
We have to work round the clock to ensure human life doesn't get
affected as it's only due to the local people here that the lion
population has survived," Mr Sharma says.
State forest officials say lions can be safe only in Gujarat, a view the state government has been pushing.
RL Meena, chief conservator of forests, rubbishes suggestions that the lion may become extinct in Gir.
"There has been no incident ever when a local has knowingly killed a lion," he says.
"People are mostly vegetarian here so there is no dearth of bush meat for the big cat."
The big question, however, still remains - are India's lions really safe? http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-29009234

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"If ever you feel like an animal among men, be a LION" -Criss Jami, American Musician and Poet. "Lion: The fiercest and most magnanimous of the four footed beasts" - Samuel Johnson's Dictionary of the English Language (1755)

Asiatic Lion Protection Society

Asiatic Lion Protection Society (ALPS) founded in year 2006, is an NGO working mainly for conservation of Asiatic Lion in Gir forest and in Indian Zoos. Main objectives: To compile max. information about Asiatic Lion plus Gir forest and spread it through out the globe by website, blogs, Wikipedia, yahoo groups etc To help protection & conservation of Asiatic Lion & Gir forest by taking up projects like - Building parapets on open wells. - To contact and request nationalize banks of Gir area to put a condition to built parapet on open wells while sanctioning loan to farmers - At the time of festivals, organize camps near temples like Kankai, Banej & Tulsi Shyam to educate tourist to protect wildlife. - To distribute information and awareness leaflets at check-post to visitors using jungle roads. - Make representation & persuade Govt. to make Gir 'A Plastic Free Zone. Similarly contact local civil bodies to make their areas A Plastic free zone. To inform authorities about illegal activities inside the jungle like wood-cutting, removal of forest produce, poaching, illegal grazing etc. To inform authorities about injured wild animals. Also educate locals of Gir forests as well as school/college students to conserve Gir forest, it's wildlife and to represent to Govt. in favor of trans-location of Asiatic Lion to some other good place in Gujarat. P S: We welcome your comments & posts and expect that our conversation will follow the general rules of respectful civil discourse. You’re fully responsible for everything that you submit here in your comments & posts.

Discover Gir forest with us...

If you wish to travel Gir forest... we will be happy to help, guide and accompany you to explore Gir forest for the best experience. Please contact us for the same.

Gir forest...Gir lies has a topography made up of succession of rugged ridges, isolated hills, plateaus and valleys. Besides, being the last abode of Asiatic lions, Gir forms a unique habitat for ratel, rusty spotted cat, pangolin, ruddy mongoose, civets, paradise flycatcher etc.The overwhelming presence of the omnipotent big cat diverts the attention of the common man from the remarkable bird population that the sanctuary has. However, the birds of Gir sanctuary did attract the great ornithologist, Dr. Salim Ali who believed that, had the Asiatic lions not been there, the area would have been one of the most fascinating bird sanctuaries of the country.People mostly link Gir with "Maldharis" who have survived through the ages by having symbiotic relationship with the lion. They are religious pastoral communities living in Gir. Their settlements are called "nesses".At present, Gir forests of Gujarat (India) is the only natural place where this race of lions i.e. Asiatic lion is found.